With Acura’s current mission to Type S all the things, perhaps its most curious move is to slap that S treatment onto its full-size three-row MDX SUV.
Not to go all “back in my day” here, but, uh, back in my day that Type S brand was tied to the iconic Type R badge, which first arrived in North America plastered across the sides of a third-gen Acura Integra. That first Integra Type R, and what made it special, is already the stuff of legend, so much so that they’re commanding north of $200k for a clean one, so there’s no need to dive into that story here.
But as phenomenal as that original Integra Type R was—and still is—it also presents a unique problem for a brand like Acura.
Acura’s position as a luxury brand may not allow for a follow-up vehicle as raw as the Integra Type R, moving one letter down the alphabet to create the Type S line of vehicles allowed for rides that felt closely tied to the race-spec Integra while maintaining the comforts expected from a premium auto maker.
These were low-slung coupes and sedans, offering increased power over their non-S siblings and performance-focused upgrades like close-ratio manual transmissions, limited-slip differentials and big-ol’ Brembo brakes. A TL Type S perfectly complemented an Integra Type R; a sensible daily and its wilder track-focused sibling, each clearly born from the same DNA.
These days, however, it’s not clear what the Type S badge exactly means. The current Integra Type S is phenomenal, and to use my analogy above, is the near-perfect daily-ready driver in my dream Integra Type S/Civic Type R garage. I’m a fan of the TLX Type S as well, but with the recent announcement of its pending cancellation, it probably doesn’t count as a current “S” model anymore. The ZDX Type S is fine, I guess, but it’s just a re-badged GM EV and doesn’t really offer anything extra over the standard ZDX.
And that leaves us with this: the Acura MDX Type S. It’s a comfortable three-row luxury SUV, but it might not be the best Type S. But is that a bad thing?
Why does it look so small?
Upon seeing this MDX Type S for the first time, I couldn’t help but think they delivered the RDX again by mistake. Maybe I need to update my glasses prescription. Or maybe the fact that both Acura crossovers share the same Urban Gray Pearl paint and design language is what threw me off. Or perhaps there’s something about that muted exterior color, scale-appropriate wheel fitment and volume-reducing scalloped surfaces that made my eyes feel all bamboozled. The world may never know.
But what I do know is that this crossover looks good in its Type S trim. Compared to its non-S siblings, the design of its 21-inch wheels feels more intentional and gives this Acura a more athletic stance. The more aggressive front fascia, black trim, red brake calipers and massive quad exhaust also make my inner tuner feel all sorts of happy.
It’s bigger on the inside
Yes, I used to watch Doctor Who, and yes, I stole that line from the show. But that subhead works as, once you get inside the MDX, it feels like a proper three-row SUV. It’s a spacious cabin, with plenty of room up front and, if you slide those heated captain’s chairs back a bit, lots of room in the second row, too.
The third row, as expected, is tight, as is the cargo area behind them. My kid, however, loves it back there. But she’s tiny, so every car is spacious as far as she’s concerned. But when I need use this crossover to do crossover things—things like carrying stuff—I use the power-fold feature and keep those rear-most seats down.
Acura fixed its tech problem
Much has been said about Acura’s touchpad interface, none of it good, and thankfully Acura tossed said interface right out of the MDX for the 2025 model year. In its place is a competent (dare I say good?) 12.3-inch touchscreen display. It does all the things touchscreens are supposed to do, such as control what I hear coming out of the 31-speaker Bang and Olufsen Ultra Sound System, and does them well—all in high-resolution, high-saturation visual fidelity.
That doesn’t mean Acura has forsaken its love for lots and lots of physical buttons, mind you. Climate controls, drive-select modes and transmission selections are all clickable, flickable, or twistable. But as is usual with Acura product—and I fully admit this is a “me” problem as my close-up vision simply doesn’t vision—these buttons are small and hard to read, and the sheer number of them (combined with the fact that these loans aren’t long-term) makes it a bit more challenging to remember where each control is using touch alone. That said, Honda nailed this kind of stuff in the current Civic, so there’s no reason that the luxury division can’t do something just as nice.
So how does it drive?
Acura’s press and marketing materials do their best to bolster the performance cred of the MDX Type S, and the specs do impress. This thing’s got a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 that spits out 355 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque. It’s got a 10-speed transmission with rev-matching downshifts. It’s even got Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD)—just like the most recent NSX. Also NSX-inspired is the Electro-Servo braking system, which is really just a fancy way of saying “brake-by-wire” and includes Brembo calipers up front.
And sure it feels powerful. Lots of low-end grunt, eager to charge ahead as you lay on that gas pedal. All that stuff. But it doesn’t exactly feel sporty. I mean, this is a three-row SUV that, with just a person or two inside, weighs 5,000 pounds.
What this isn’t, is a true Type S in the classic sense. But when cruising along the highway, massage seats engaged, adaptive air suspension soaking up the bumps, you don’t really care that this isn’t a Nürburgring-ready track machine. It is instead a machine that’s tuned for comfort, and given that this MDX Type S is a near-luxury three-row SUV with an as-tested MSRP of $76,900, that’s exactly what you want it to be.
Like pictures? Of course you do. Check out more of the Acura MDX Type S in the photo gallery below.
